


The Search Committee

by qualisign



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Drunk Sex, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-13
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-10-04 06:18:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10270139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qualisign/pseuds/qualisign
Summary: For apheeweek:Prompts: Passion + Teacher/ProfessorEduard and Ivan were involved in graduate school. Upon graduation, Eduard cut off almost all ties and got a position in the department of system programming at Lomonosov Moscow State University. When Ivan accepts an interview for a position in the same department, he has to present his research before the committee.... including Eduard. Eduard's strict professionalism in the interview process puts Ivan off, but Ivan is just as much of an opportunist as Eduard is.





	

He and Eduard had gone to graduate school together. They did a lot more than just studying, but their quick flings wounded Ivan more than gave him that fluttery, lovey-dovey feeling since Eduard was such an isolationist. When they graduated, Ivan vowed to message him every day, and after maybe a month of lukewarm responses to his life rants, Ivan gradually got the hint.

But now, after three whole years, he was finally talking to his first “true love” again. Eduard probably loved his phone more than he loved any living being, but that was part of his charm, and what made him such a challenge to earn the favor of!

Unfortunately, Ivan was dressed in suit and tie, and so was Eduard and the rest of the search committee from the Department of System Programming at Lomonosov Moscow State University. Because this was a job interview for a visiting professorship. There was not much in the way of catching up when Ivan had to present the results of his Ph.D. research project. And Eduard was staring him down with the same, emotionally distant look that he had given Ivan when they first met. How Eduard wounded him.

It wounded him even more that Eduard had found a comfy spot in the department before he had even found a steady job. Just because Ivan took a year off for the sake of mental health! Not everyone was an opportunistic workaholic. No wonder it seemed like Eduard had no friends. But, if Eduard had mastered a poker face in front of a man he had slept with then so could he.

Pulling through the interview was easy after all because Ivan could stare right over Eduard’s stupid, cute face at the boring, white wall immediately behind him while following his note cards about debugging microprograms. He just had to stay on track! But he rambled off and got distracted more than a few times, and his nerves suddenly made the room so hot. He could feel the eyes of the committee glaring straight into his soul. But, before he knew it, he was at his conclusion and ran out of his note cards that he had practiced not staring directly at so many times! He felt drenched in sweat and immensely uncomfortable, but even more so when Eduard was the first to raise his hand for questions.

“Y…Yes?”

“Mr. Braginsky, are you alright?”

Oh, good Lord, that was worse than any technical question Eduard could have brought up. He responded with a much too fervent, “Yes!” before the real questions came and Ivan could find solace in the microprograms that were so much easier to work with than Eduard.

But his visitation was on a strict schedule, and the interview eventually ended. God was truly fucking with him when _Eduard_ was the one who was going to take him to dinner to talk exclusively about _work._ He had dinner with the head of the department the night prior, and Eduard’s work was in the same line as Ivan’s so it made sense, but he would still hate every second of it. Especially since Eduard still didn’t acknowledge him as anything else but an interviewee. Did he have a soul? A heart?

It wasn’t until Eduard said goodbye to the other professors in his department, and until everyone had shaken Ivan’s sweaty, sweaty hand that Eduard raised an eyebrow at him. The negative acknowledgment was progress in Ivan’s book. It at least meant he could return the gesture. But oh God, getting into Eduard’s car still felt somewhat scandalous.

“What the hell was that, Ivan?” Eduard gripped the wheel but hadn’t even started the car yet. He wished he would because this wasn’t how he imagined their conversation to go in his head.

“Oh, so now I’m on first name basis, _Edik_? It’s been two days.”

“It’s an interview, Ivan. You’re _supposed_ to treat all the applicants the same. This can’t be the only place you applied to. You _had_ to know that.”

“A warm ‘hello’ would have been nice, at least.” Ivan pouted.

Eduard just ran a hand through his hair. “Ivan, there is no way you’re going to get this job. Absolutely, no way.”

“Did I really mess up that badly?” His heart sunk.

“Yes. Yes, you did. Ivan, I’ve seen you give better presentations on the intricacies of good butter in the old flat. Your research presentation was so good on paper. What the hell happened?”

_I was distracted because you aged well and are still distracting, and I like your eyes,_ was probably not the appropriate answer. “I got nervous.”

Eduard sighed and sunk into his seat, still making no progress in actually driving anywhere.

“Not everyone can just swallow their emotions on a moments notice, Edik!”

“Good luck getting a job then.”

“I still have tonight to change things,” Ivan muttered, staring out the window to the completely unremarkable parking lot.

“This dinner is the last event in your visitation, and I can tell you right now that we might as well skip it. It won’t change anything.”

“Don’t say that!” Ivan raised his voice a little too loud because Eduard visibly jumped in his seat. He had to remember to keep his volume in check, but it was so hard when he felt like he was on the verge of tears. “I can still defend myself!”

“Ivan, that research presentation was the most important part of your visit, and the two previous candidates were, unfortunately, stronger than you. That’s just the way it is. Do you want me to drive you to your hotel room?”

Ivan crossed his arms and sulked. Well, if Eduard was so _sure_ that he was a failure. “Sure. Fine, I guess. I’m so sorry I disappointed you.”

“That’s not—- Fine. Whatever.”

The next few minutes, the only sound was the gentle hum of the engine and other cars passing by. Eduard was silent, but Ivan knew from the few glances he took that he was stressed and exhausted. Ivan didn’t feel much better, knowing he was damned out of sharing a workspace with his former dream sweetheart. Couldn’t Eduard just talk to fill time for once? He was just thankful his hotel was close enough that the silence between them would end soon. But it was still so hard to drag himself out of the car when they stopped. Even Eduard’s exhausted face was endearing, and how could he just leave a face like that? Besides, if Eduard was as tired as he looked, he might fall asleep at the wheel and get hurt! Ivan would be doing the man a disservice by not offering some help.

“You can get out of the car anytime now.” Thank you, Eduard, for breaking your own self-imposed silence! Ivan was so proud.

“Edik, you look like you’re about to collapse.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Maybe you should just spend the night. It’s not safe to drive if you don’t have your wits about you.”

And that shut Eduard right back up again. He gave Ivan a stupefied look, which was frankly adorable. He wished he had a camera. “Ivan, I swear—”

“No, no, no. Let me clarify. It’s for your health.”

Eduard ran a hand through his hair again, effectively ruining the nice job he did combing it. He looked like his grad school self again when he was disheveled like that. “I… will walk you in. That’s it. Then, I need to go home. This is still a professional engagement and you, out of all people, should know that.”

Yes! Small victories. A small part of Ivan (a large part) prayed that it would evolve into something more, but he’d be content with even a few minutes of small talk and nostalgia. The despair of losing his chances at the job was replaced with the glee of Eduard following him back to his hotel room because Ivan was talking so much that Eduard didn’t have a chance to leave in the lobby. It may have been a little bit manipulative, but Eduard was a smart man and knew him well. If he really, really didn’t want to stay, he would have turned around and walked back out. The fact that he didn’t gave Ivan hope. In fact, Eduard’s exhaustion shifted to nervousness.

“Alright, goodnight,” is what Eduard said, but he wasn’t making much of an effort to walk away.

“Why not come in for a drink?”

“Ivan—” Eduard’s tone took on the warning edge it usually did when Ivan started pushing boundaries.

“Edik, please, I’ve wanted to share a drink with you for years now. You never responded to any of my requests.”

“Maybe I didn’t for a reason.” Eduard glanced around and brought his voice down. “Just one. Just one drink.”

Ivan was the happiest man-who-just-got-rejected-from-a-job ever. He just had to work with Eduard’s language, was all. It was so simple. He did still love him! He wanted to grab him and pull him into a kiss, but he was a moral man. He could be patient and work in Eduard’s comfort zone. He let Eduard step in on his own accord, at his own pace. He was so tense! It was just Ivan, he didn’t understand.

Eduard sat on one of the beds as Ivan prepared cocktails for the both of them. It would have been extra romantic if he had some proper tumblers, but he could make do with the water glasses the hotel provided for him. They were still glass. It was still classy! And if he brought his own, Eduard would have been suspicious about it being a setup. Which it wasn’t! Ivan sincerely would not have risked losing his chance at the job if not for Eduard’s cruel delivery about his status among other candidates. Maybe Ivan was just as much of an opportunist.

Either way, a few drinks later and Eduard was starting to loosen up. Loosening up came in the form of complaining about how stressed he was, but Ivan didn’t mind. He was open to listening and scooted closer and closer to Eduard on the bed when he felt like he could get away with it.

“Edik, you really should find a healthy way to relieve all that stress. It’s clearly weighing down on you.”

“Ivan, I swear–”

“I mean it! I’m very concerned with your health. I rarely see any updates about you anymore. I was worried. That’s why I kept messaging you.”

Eduard was so fidgety. Ivan tentatively reached over and rested a hand on his shoulder. Eduard didn’t jump, and Ivan took that as a sign to work out the kinks that plagued his poor back. His shoulders were hard as rocks, no wonder he looked like he was.

“You’re still… really good at that.” Eduard was finally relaxing and becoming more visibly comfortable in general.

“I had to be,” Ivan said into Eduard’s ear, “You always overworked yourself. Do you remember all the times you forgot to eat?”

“If I stopped, I would have burned out. I just had to keep pushing.” Eduard leaned back into his lap, and it lit a spark in Ivan that traveled southward very quickly.

“You don’t have to do that anymore, though.” He untucked Eduard’s shirt, and slid one of his hands underneath it, bunching the fabric up to expose Eduard’s stomach. The skin there was still so smooth, and Ivan was so thankful to be able to touch it once again.

Ivan removed Eduard’s blazer, and, knowing that Eduard would throw a fit if it were wrinkled, folded it nicely and placed it on the side of the bed. Now, Eduard was truly disheveled, just like in all of his late night fantasies, and if he wasn’t turned on before, he was now. It didn’t help that Eduard reached up to cup his cheek, and brought him down in a kiss that was… frankly, a lot less pure than Ivan was expecting. Eduard pulled no stops, slipping his tongue past Ivan’s lips and pinning Ivan to the bed.

They made out as though they hadn’t seen each other in years. And, they hadn’t! Ivan was enjoying every little nibble that Eduard gave to his lips and ran his fingers through the professor’s hair. When they finally stopped, Eduard was panting and Ivan was trying to remember how lungs worked.

“You planned this, didn’t you?” Eduard said between gasps.

“I swear I didn’t.”

“You’re a bad liar.”

Ivan didn’t feel it necessary to respond. Not when Eduard was working on the buttons of his dress shirt and leaving open-mouthed kisses on his chest. What a dream come true. Eduard sat up, allowing Ivan to remove the remainder of his blazer and shirt in one go. Again, he wished for a camera, because with Eduard straddling his hips like he was with his shirt half off his shoulders and lips red, he looked like a model. Or, well, at least to Ivan. Ivan was biased.

Eduard rocked his hips once and Ivan let out a shaky breath. Oh, how he had wanted this again for _years._ And clearly, Eduard was in a similar state of mind. He unbuttoned his own shirt and, against his nature, threw it to the ground. Eduard abandoned his nice, pressed shirt for him! It was true love! Ivan was convinced enough of that through the haze of alcohol and desire.

More responsibly, Eduard removed his glasses and reached to set them on the nightstand.

“I can’t afford for these to break.”

“That happened once, didn’t it? At the flat?”

“Be quiet about the flat.”

Ivan was going to be quiet about the flat.

But now, Eduard couldn’t see Ivan’s expressions as clearly. That was sad. He should really invest in contacts.

“So,” Eduard breathed out, “I’m going to guess that you came prepared?”

… Ivan wanted so desperately to say, 'no, I didn’t pack anything of the _racy variety_ ,’ but then Ivan would be a liar. He carried the _goods_ with him just in case his wishful thinking came true. And it did, so it was smart planning on his part. “… Yes.”

“I can’t believe you.”

“It’s important to be prepared, Edik.”

“I can’t _believe_ you.” But even if Eduard was being difficult, it contradicted how he unzipped his pants and wiggled out of them. “I’m taking the time to fold these.”

“I need to get a few things anyways,” Ivan replied, though he found it very hard to walk when his legs were like gelatin and his dick was awkwardly straining his slacks. He came back to Eduard’s clothes nicely folded on the other bed, while his remained crumpled on the floor.

_Well, thanks, Edick._

But whatever irritation he felt was remedied with Eduard laying completely nude on the bed. He was still covering himself, and wow, Eduard still retained his shy, grad school cuteness. Ivan was truly blessed.

He sat down next to him, with Eduard facing away, and patted him on the head. “Do you want to make love?”

“Please, don’t call it that.” Ivan waited expectantly. “Fine. Yes. Okay.”

That was great! Ivan’s patience had long ago died and he was done with just messing around. He removed his pants and added them to his pile. They were as ruined as his career at LMSU, so what was the point? Now entirely nude, Ivan reached a hand to between Eduard’s legs, moving Eduard’s own hands to the side, and stroked him slowly.

Eduard’s hands had moved back up to cover his face, which was a shame, but Ivan wasn’t going to do anything about it at this point. Instead, he moved his hand faster, before removing it entirely and opening his little bottle of lubrication. Eduard looked like he was dying from embarrassment. That was okay.

“Do you have any preference about if you to—”

“No. Just hurry up.”

“So, you don’t mind if you’re the one who takes it?”

“No. Just stop talking.”

“Can you at least make this easier for me then?”

Eduard removed his hands from his face and laid on his back. Ivan didn’t understand why he was hiding it, his blush was absolutely precious, but it disappeared back into Eduard’s folded arms as quickly as it had appeared.

With better access, Ivan coated his fingers and pressed them to Eduard’s entrance, feeling him physically tense up. He let his free hand trace carefree circles around Eduard’s lower back to restore him back to a more relaxed state and then pressed a finger in, quickly adding two, and then three. Eduard was experienced, and he felt little resistance, which means that Eduard was doing something and Ivan was just going to selectively ignore the fact that Eduard probably had a sex life beyond grad school for now.

Besides, Ivan was impatient. And Eduard hadn’t even touched him yet. What a shame. But he also wasn’t about to prolong what he had been waiting for since Eduard accepted his advances. He removed the condom from its packaging and rolled it on himself. Eduard whined, but God, if Ivan could be patient then so could he. Lining himself up, he pressed into Eduard and watched to gauge his reaction, which would be better done if he could see his face.

“Are you okay?”

“Please, just move.”

Ivan obliged, and quickly accelerated his pace, not giving Eduard enough time to adjust. Eduard could handle it, he handled it for two whole years with Ivan. And besides, his speed got noises out of Eduard so much faster and that was music to his ears. His legs were shaking, and he buried himself in the pillow to stifle his gasps and sighs. But Ivan knew Eduard’s body very well! It didn’t take much to get Eduard to make enough noise to wake the neighbors, and Ivan was right there with him, doing his best to change his angle to better accommodate what he knew worked for Eduard until he reached his peak and came, removing himself from Eduard and reveling in the post-sex afterglow that was so different than when he took care of things alone.

And it was so easy to go down on Eduard when he felt so good himself. Eduard was clearly not expecting _that_ when he sat up to take care of things himself, and the shock on his face was priceless. It didn’t take much to get Eduard to come, but he appreciated every second of that minute where Eduard desperately tried to cover his mouth to stifle his noises, eyes squeezed shut besides for a few moments when he made direct eye contact with Ivan and then immediately looked away.

The two of them laid in comfortable silence this time, Ivan playing with a lock of Eduard’s hair.

“Hey, Eduard?”

But Eduard didn’t respond. With his eyes closed and gentle breathing, Ivan figured that he had already fallen asleep. Which was fine with him, it let him revel in the moment for just a little longer before wrapping the blankets around the both of them and cuddling into Eduard’s arms.

* * *

Eduard messaged him for the first time the next day.

_I still can’t believe you. Also, surprise, you didn’t get the job._

Those words were all he could ask for.

**Author's Note:**

> Take my filthy sins. I stayed up until 4 am writing this in one go and rip. It's now edited somewhat.... mostly with grammatical mistakes over stylistic ones.


End file.
